Quotes About Productivity

Only wealthy organisms are able to culturally diversify, and as human beings get richer and richer, our instinct is to get ever more weird. As productivity has skyrocketed, so has our ability to do what we'd like instead of merely focusing on survival.

Sorry that this e-booklet is so short. Actually, if I hadn't spent so much time on it, it would be longer.

FileMaker Pro

Attempt to create only one significant work a year.

We're hitting an asymptote, a natural ceiling for how cheaply and how fast we can deliver uninspired work. Becoming more average, more quick, and more cheap is not as productive as it used to be.

A successful manager told me that stopped wearing a watch. She found that the work was so immersive, anchoring it to whatever hour it happened to be was pointless. The watch reminded her of the rigors of appointments and the status quo, while her goal was to be there, right here, right now, in the moment, and to do the work in front of her. The watch had no role in doing that right, so, for now, it's gone.

If we can measure it, we can do it faster. If we can put it in a manual, we can outsource it. If we can outsource it, we can get it cheaper.

6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done. 7. Once you're done you can throw it away. 8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done. 9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right. 10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes. 11. Destruction is a variant of done.

Organizing around average means that the organization has exchanged the high productivity of exceptional performance for the ease and security of an endless parade of average performers.

The business model should be such that the employees needed possess the lowest possible level of skill necessary to fulfill the functions for which each is intended.

the greatest shortage in our society is an instinct to produce.

No, the real reason is this: Meetings are a great place to hide. Meetings are where we go to wait for someone else to take responsibility. Meetings are a safe haven, a refuge from what might happen.

factories are efficient. Starting a factory and filling it with factory workers is a good way to make a profit. By "factory," I don't necessarily mean a place with heavy machinery, greasy floors, and a din. I mean any organization that cranks out a product or a service, does it with measurable output, and tries to reduce costs as it goes. I mean any job where your boss tells you what to do and how to do it.

The Cult of Done Bre Pettis wrote this manifesto on his blog:

Organizing around the average, then, is too expensive. Organizing around average means that the organization has exchanged the high productivity of exceptional performance for the ease and security of an endless parade of average performers.

If we condition ourselves to work without flow, it's more likely to arrive.

workers into machines. If we can measure it, we can do it faster. If we can put it in a manual, we can outsource it. If we can outsource it, we can get it cheaper.

I think Mr. Robert Frost has a little too much time on his hands.

It's important to be aware of how multitasking can stimulate us into mindlessness, giving the illusion of productivity while stealing our focus and harming performance. "When you are walking, walk. When you are sitting, sit," is ancient wisdom.

Concentration Attention Multitasking Boredom Procrastination

Much of our day we are pushed around by unhelpful habits such as being distracted or disconnected, holding on too long when circumstances have already changed, or not being wholehearted in pursuing an opportunity. Meditation can open us to alternative responses such as focus, awareness, and productive questioning and that leads to more fulfillment and better work.

When we constantly hear that we should be smarter, better connected, more productive, wealthier—it takes real courage to claim the time and space to follow the currents of our talents, our aspirations, and our hearts, which may lead in a very different direction.

alone producing over sixty percent more manufactured goods than the whole Confederacy

If I wasn't writing poems, I'd be washing my hands all the time.